Jim's 2025 Games Of The Year

In 2025, I played 172 different games. Within those 172 games, I amassed a total of 648 plays. I appreciate that is higher than the average. But 1. I do run a review website and 2. I adore playing games! It is worth noting, a lot were smaller games where you can log a lot of plays in one. Obviously, not every game was new, launched that year. But roughly 35% were. With the amount of games, it is hard to narrow down a top ten. As such, this year, I thought I would do ten of my favourites, not necessarily the top ten. Each game would most certainly be up there in my top ten, were I to rank them. But they are here as I felt they were the best for a specific reason. OK, here we go!

Best Game of the Year 2025 - Kinfire Council

Check our review here

I adore this game. It looks gorgeous, plays so smoothly, and is full of non-stop, interesting, meaningful, and deeply strategic choices. It has held up over multiple plays and at multiple player counts. It is quite different in a two-player game. It changes a fair bit, but not in a bad way, just different. And I think that helps keep it fresh.

It can be slightly longer to teach than the average euro, with a lot of things to look at and understand, as is the case with games like this with multiple worker placement spots. You need to understand the options available to understand the game, and a new player will struggle against a more experienced player because of this. But aside from that, this is pure gaming joy for me and deserves its spot as my WBG game of the year for 2025.

Best Co-operative Game 2025 - Corps of Discovery

Check our review here

The sense of adventure in this game is off the scale, matched by a constant undercurrent of tension and genuinely enjoyable table talk. As a two-player cooperative experience, I absolutely love it. Every decision feels important, and from the very first turn there is a real urgency to get exactly what you need, even though you start with almost no information. You only know where the peak is, and that is it. Very quickly, though, you begin to build a shared picture of the map in your head, and the discussions around how to reach your goal are what truly make this game special.

Because of that, the solo experience does not quite land for me, even though Boardgame Geek suggests this is how the game is best played. I still enjoy it, and I can see the appeal, especially for players who like quiet, thoughtful puzzles. However, so much of the fun comes from talking through possibilities and jointly working out where things might be. I miss that collaborative decision-making too much when playing alone. For me, this is a game that really shines when shared and as such, is my co-operative game of 2025.

Most Innovative Game 2025 - Vantage

Check our review here

As with many ambitious projects of this nature, Vantage has encountered its share of critics as well as admirers. Personally, I can appreciate both the criticism and the support. However, I find myself siding with the view that this game is a stroke of gaming genius. The scale, ambition, and sheer determination of the designer to craft such an expansive, surprising, delightful, and seamless experience deserve significant recognition.

Each game feels unique, and it takes just moments to bring this large, heavy box to the table and start playing. Some games end in just a few turns, for better or worse, while others can last for hours. Some of this is beyond your control, but as you become more familiar with the game, you can begin to shape and influence the type of game you want. The sense of adventure, discovery, and excitement is what keeps me coming back time and again. I want to learn everything this game has to offer and uncover every hidden secret. This could very well make it one of my most played games in the coming years.

Best Table Presence 2025 - Cretaceous Rails

Check our review here

Just look at it! Little plastic Dinosaurs and trains! What more do you want?

It's bright, colourful, and begins like this! Instead of building it up, you actually dismantle it and add it to your own player board. Therefore, every game of Cretaceous Rails kicks off with this vibrant plastic display, inviting everyone nearby to join in and play!

The game is incredibly enjoyable as well. It combines various mechanics to create a combo-tastic point salad experience that feels arcade-like in its fun, yet incorporates tight strategy and structure at its core. It's truly a delightful experience, and every time I teach it to new players, they initially think it seems a bit gimmicky and "just a bunch of toys!". However, once they start playing, they experience the excitement and challenge in every turn. And by the end, they are left frustrated by how expensive the game is to purchase because they want it! There is a cheaper version without the cool dino models, but they are such a joy that if you want this game, maybe consider selling a few other games you no longer play much and get the full version. It's not always worth to get the full blinged out game, but here I feel it is! Enjoy, my friends! This is very deserving of being WBG best table presence for 2025.

Best Expansion 2025 - Kavango Lodges

Check our review here

I love Kavango. It's a light weight but thoroughly enjoyable game that hits every time. There are a few issues with it though that I felt held it back from being great. Lodges fixes them all!

As such, this expansion is an absolute must-have for me and deserving of WBG Expansion of the Year for 2025. If you own the base game, you should definitely get this. If the card placement in the base game felt insignificant to you, give this a try; it resolves that issue with such simplicity and a delightful extra wrinkle you will adore.

It's a fantastic production from an amazing team, who consistently deliver excellent work. The experience is incredibly enjoyable as well. It's easy to teach, a lot of fun to play, and holds up to multiple sessions, as two and a half years of gaming with this box have shown me. I first played this in September 2023, and I still love it now. The expansion adds just that little extra enjoyment, fixes the main issues in the base game, and makes me want to come back to this game time and time again. When I have 40 minutes and want something light but crunchy, this is often my choice, and the expansion made that happen. As such, this is very deserving of my WBG expansion of the year for 2025.

Best Art / Graphic design 2025 - Tokaido Crossroads & Matsuri

Check our review here

This award is highly subjective and personal, but I absolutely love the beautiful simplicity combined with the intricate detail found in the art of Tokaido Crossroads & Matsuri. The same stunning art was present in the base game and the original versions of this, so it's a bit of a cheat to choose this re-released combined version of the new expansion as my Best Art award for 2025. However, since it was released in 2025 in a new print and version, and it's truly breath-taking, it gets my vote!

Best Thematic Game 2025 - Molly House

Check our interview with designer here

I don't own this game, and I've only played it once. Consequently, it hasn't been reviewed on this site yet. However, after my single playthrough, I was so captivated by the game's theme that I very quickly arranged an interview with the designer, just to satisfy my own desire to understand this game more! I don't usually do that; I don't usually come away from a game with so many questions. And because of this experience, I believe it deserves to be the winner of WBG Best Thematic Game of 2025. It truly captured me during that one play.

Best Two Player 2025 - Tag Team

This game does not have a review on the site yet; I've been too busy playing it! It sets up and can be learned or taught in mere moments, and games are fast, frantic, and so fun! There are a number of characters to choose from, with lots of combinations of fighters you can work with, making each game feel different. The first 15 or so games are like a learning experience where you just want to understand the game more, get better at it, and play it over and over. It has captivated me and is a regular one for me to play when I have just a few moments and one buddy to sit down with. And I think it will be this game for me for many years to come. New characters with future expansions will only keep this game fresh; it feels limitlessly expansive in this way, and I just cannot wait to play the new characters when they come out and get better at this game. I lose a lot!

Best Puzzle Game 2025 - Take Time

Take Time is a campaign game that plays over a number of rounds. I have not finished it yet, and as such, this game has not had a full review on the site yet either. But when it does, I can see this game getting a very high score. It is such a clever mix of mechanics. It will captivate you from turn one. It feels like The Mind mixed with a few other games, but presented in such a new and interesting way. The envelopes you open as you progress through the campaign are worryingly addictive for me. I am so easily pleased when it comes to unlockable content through a grind! But the actual gameplay of working out which card to play, where, and when is delightful and works every time. An ingenious design and one for any puzzle fans, much deserving of WBG's best puzzle game of 2025.

Best Solo Game 2025 - The Hobbit There And Back Again

Another campaign game I haven't finished, yet I'm utterly delighted by it! It's beautifully thematic, with each chapter feeling different. For fans of LOTR like me, it contains many clever nods to the books and links the story to the gameplay in a truly ingenious way. I don't play solo often, but when I do, this game is the one that brings me back the most. Apart from Vantage, which I also enjoy solo. However, with Vantage, I've enjoyed exploring it with two players more than on my own, and with The Hobbit, I felt that playing with two just slowed it down. Solo, although challenging, is where this game truly shines for me, and as such, The Hobbit There And Back Again is WBG's Best Solo Game for 2025.

Honourable mentions:

March of the Ants - I love this game. It is a wonderful new edition of a modern classic, making 4x so quick, accessible, and doing so with such a unique theme. This game deserves a mention for that alone. The fact that it plays so well and is utterly absorbing from turn one only goes to show how hard it was to pick just ten games again this year.

Check our review here

Finspan - This is not the most innovative game in the world being the third "span" style game to come out. But for making the Wingspan universe so accessible, it deserves praise. This game is so simple, so quick to learn and teach, but still scratches that Wingspan itch. It looks gorgeous, and I imagine it will see multiple expansions through the years, keeping it fresh and alive. I'm a big fan.

Check our review here

Cytress - I would love to include this game for the ambition alone. For such a big, bold, and brave project from a first-time designer with some wonderful table presence to get the backing it did on Kickstarter, and then the clear love and time to develop, not rush the production, but put out a thought-out, well-crafted, and wonderfully enjoyable game that has layers to it both in terms of its physical components, but also in the strategy you can start to develop as you play. A worthy mention in this list.

Check our review here

So there you have it. What a year 2025 was. Let's hope 2026 brings even more joy to our tables. I know it already has for me. I hope it does for you.